Here’s the tale of two outsiders who moved to Launceston to start a new life. From the sunny Gold Coast to regional Tasmania; that’s quite a sea change.
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Online, and sight unseen, they purchased a rundown cottage. A really run down cottage, smack bang in the middle of the city.
Their plan … to start a new business and live in their old, but character filled, home.
The joy of renovating soon became a smelly, exhausting and frustrating reality. But both were filled with great enthusiasm for their new community, business and home.
Taking a much needed break one afternoon, they ventured down the road for a coffee. Not until they were standing waiting for their coffee in the cafe, did they absorb the fact they had not showered for a while as they had no bathroom, and were dressed in clothes for scrubbing walls – not having a café latte.
Apologising to the barista for their appearance (and smell) while in his cafe, they explained who they were, what they were doing and the predicament of having no bathroom for the moment.
After enjoying their quick break, they headed back to work.
Unbeknownst to them, their little story began to travel – as stories often do! The tale of the two Gold Coasters starting a new life here with no shower.
Not long after came a knock at their door. The face of a complete stranger greeted them as they opened up.
He had heard from the local coffee shop of their new business venture and the fact they had nowhere to shower while they were renovating their cottage.
He lived across the road in a lovely apartment and was going out of town for the next few weeks.
This complete stranger then handed them the keys to his home and said they could use the bathroom whenever they needed. He would see them again when he came back.
When sharing this story with me, our new Launcestonians said in all the years they lived on the Gold Coast they had never so much as been offered a cup of sugar from a neighbour. And yet here was this man opening up his home so they could have a nice hot shower at the end of each day.
How beautiful to be reminded of the joys of a smaller community; of the beautiful people who we live next to and across the road from. Our city and indeed our state are filled with good Samaritans just like this man – it’s just that they don’t often make it into news headlines.
These two women are making a go of it here. They have installed a massive wood heater in their new home in fear of our winter. But they know they have moved to a place where people have warm hearts. And warm showers!